Today, tomorrow and yesterday…biographies for all days

We all love to read autobiographies and biographies of rich and famous…and we have our favorites too! But if we explore this segment little more we will be taken aback by countless biographies and autobiographies on the shelves of bookstores and libraries…you name it, they have it. Be it a sportsperson, politician, singer, actor, dancer, industrialist, writer…the list is endless. There are millions of books available on their lives and achievements. Here, Smita Dwivedi writes about Pooja Bedi, author of Time Pass – an autobiography of her mother Protima Bedi, Indian model turned Odissi xponent.

The biographies of great men and women have been written and rewritten not only to glorify their great deeds, but also to provide great inspirational tales of achievement, sacrifice, courage, commitment and exemplary qualities. To start with, let me ask a question –‘Which is the most inspiring Indian biography?’ To put an end to our instant wilderness of thoughts, let me tell you the answer. It is Shrimad Bhagwad Gita – the autobiography of Lord Krishna. Yes, in India and world over, it is one of the most read autobiographical literature. As per Dr Sonal Mansingh, “It is so amazing that I have read it more than 10 times.”

Pooja’s Time Pass

Out of many famous autobiographical books some are literary masterpieces which contain volumes written about fascinating and famous people and events. So why one more? To which, Pooja Bedi replied, “The book Time Pass is my tribute to my mom – Protima Bedi. She had this wonderful habit to pen down all her emotional, personal and intellectual thoughts which were wandering within her. And she had a huge collection of her writings, which I explored when she was not with us.”

Protima was always known for her outrageous lifestyle. She was quite an icon, defying sexual taboos and challenging hypocrisies. And her nude run on the Juhu beach in Mumbai was her way to condemn society. Living life on her own terms, her death also came dramatically as she would have wanted. On August 17, 1998 while on pilgrimage to Mansarovar, a landslide killed 200 people. Among them was Protima Bedi.

While reading heaps of manuscripts by Protima, Pooja got a chance to know her mom much better. So how was the journey of writing an autobiography of your so called controversial mom? To which she replies, “Well I always stood by mom, she had given us a great lifestyle. I was always given my right to choose my ways. The diary entries and her writings were her own views and opinions about the external world. And these really helped me in knowing her better. I wanted that not only me…but the whole world should know her the way she was. So I decided to compile it in – Time Pass.”

But why such a unique

name: Time Pass? And she explains, “Her life was fun, she lived every moment to the fullest. Whenever we asked her about life, she always replied it’s a Time Pass.” And for Pooja, autobiographies of successful people are quite inspiring.